Universal vertical shade

ABSTRACT

A universal vertical shade to provide versatile applications includes at least a curtain track, a bracing rod, a shade and two sliding members. Each of the sliding members has two flanges and two drawing rope action holes on the top surface, a detent plate extended from the middle portion and a holding dock on the lower portion. The holding dock holds the bracing rod and the top portion of the shade. The vertical shade structure thus formed is versatile and adaptable to various types of shades. It is easy to assemble and install. Production cost also is lower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a universal vertical shade and particularly to a vertical shade that provides versatile applications.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A conventional fixed vertical shade 1 like the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 mainly includes a piece of shade 14 with the top portion wound around a bracing rod 13. The bracing rod 13 has two ends held respectively by a holding dock 121 of a hanging hook 12 and fastened by a bolt 122 through a screw hole 123 on one side. The hanging hook 12 has a hook portion 124 to be hung on a curtain track 11 to mount the vertical shade 1. As the modem interior design becomes more versatile, the fixed vertical shade cannot meet all the requirements. Nowadays multi-panel and movable vertical shades are available and have become the mainstream of the market. FIG. 3 shows one of them. The vertical shade 2 includes a curtain track 21 which has a dovetail trough 211 on a lower side to be slidably coupled by a sliding flange 251 on a upper side of a sliding member 25. The sliding member 25 has a trough 252 on each of two sides on a lower portion to be wedged by a ridge 222 in a coupling trough 221 formed on one side of a window rack 22. There is a shade fastening trough 223 below the coupling trough 221 that has a teeth surface 224 on one side to couple with a teeth plate 23 to clip the upper end of a shade 24. One or more bolt 226 is provided to compress the teeth plate 23 to form a secure fastening (referring to FIG. 4). The window rack 22 further has an anchor trough 225 on a rear side to be wedged by a side plate 262 of a retaining member 26. The retaining member 26 has a front detent plate 261 on a front side and a rear detent plate 263 on a rear side. When the multi-panel vertical shade is mounted in a juxtaposed manner (referring to FIG. 5), the front and rear detent members 261 and 263 of the neighboring shades can engage with each other to move the vertical shades.

The multi-panel vertical shade mentioned above has drawbacks during installation and use, notably:

-   -   1. The window rack 22 has to be coupled with the teeth plate 23         to clip the shade 24. Many elements are needed. Fabrication of         the elements becomes complicated and takes too much time. The         aluminum alloy being used as the material is more expensive. As         a result, total cost is higher, and the competitiveness on the         market is lower.     -   2. While the shade 24 can be slid on the window track 22 through         the sliding member 25, the retaining member 26 has to be added         to move multiple sets of shades 24 when adopted to multi-panel         vertical shade.     -   3. The conventional structure set forth above does not provide a         drawing rope to move and slide the vertical shade 24. Hence         extra elements have to be added to provide drawing rope         operation. The number of elements increases significantly.         Assembly and installation also are more difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforesaid problems, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a universal vertical shade that can provide versatile applications. The vertical shade according to the invention includes at least a curtain track, a bracing rod, a shade and two sliding members. Each of the sliding members has two flanges and two drawing rope action holes on the top side, a detent plate extending from a middle portion and a holding dock on a lower portion. The holding dock holds and anchors the bracing rod and the top end of the shade. The vertical shade structure thus formed is adaptable to various types of vertical shades, and can be assembled and installed easily. It also costs less.

In one aspect, the holding dock includes a chuck wedged in a through hole of the sliding member to clip and anchor the bracing rod and the top end of the shade.

The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional fixed vertical shade.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a conventional fixed vertical shade.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a conventional multi-panel vertical shade.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional multi-panel vertical shade.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a conventional multi-panel vertical shade.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the invention in an operating condition.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the invention in another operating condition.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the invention in an operating condition.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the invention showing the bracing rod and the sliding member in a coupling condition.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the invention showing the bracing rod and the sliding member in a coupling condition.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of yet another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 6, the universal vertical shade 3 of the invention includes at least a curtain track 31, a bracing rod 32, a shade 34 and two sliding members 33.

The curtain track 31 is a rail to hang the shade 34, and has a first sliding trough 312 on a upper side and a second sliding trough 311 on a lower side, and two ends each being coupled with an anchor plug 313.

The bracing rod 32 is an elongate bar.

The shade 34 has a coupling sleeve 342 on a top end 341 to be run through by the bracing rod 32.

Each of the sliding members 33 has a top surface 331 with two flanges 332 and 333 formed on two sides and two drawing rope action holes 334 and 335 formed thereon, a middle portion with a detent plate 336 extending outwards, and a lower portion with a holding dock 337 formed thereon. The holding dock 337 has a through hole 338 and a notch 339.

On the vertical shade 3 thus formed (referring to FIG. 7), the bracing rod 32 runs through the sleeve 342 and two ends thereof insert into the through hole 338 of the holding dock 337. The holding dock 337 has a screw hole 337 a on one side to receive a bolt 337 b to compress the top end 341 of the shade 34 on the bracing rod 32. Then the flanges 332 and 333 of the sliding member 33 are wedged in two sides of the second sliding trough 311 of the curtain track 31. The first sliding track 312 of the curtain track 31 holds an anchor plate 42 with a screw hole 421 to be fastened by one end of a bolt 43. The bolt 43 has another end running through a slot 41 of a bracing dock 4 to couple with a nut 44 to finish installation of the vertical shade 3.

Refer to FIG. 8 for an embodiment of the invention adopted for use on a multi-panel shade. The bracing dock 4 holds at least two vertical shades 3. Each vertical shade 3 is spaced from a neighboring vertical shade. The detent plate 336 of each vertical shade can drive the sliding member 33 of a neighboring vertical shade. Hence the shades 34 are driven by the sliding members 33 to extend (referring to FIG. 9), and also are driven to retract (referring to FIG. 10).

Extending and retracting of the shades can also be accomplished through a drawing rope mechanism as shown in FIG. 11. A drawing rope 5 is provided that has a fastening end 51 to engage with on one action hole 334 of the sliding member 33, and a moving end 52 running through another action hole 335. Thereby the shades 34 can be extended or retracted as desired (referring to FIG. 12).

Referring to FIG. 13, the bracing rod 32′ may have an external screw section 321′ on one end. After running through the holding dock 337′, it can be fastened to a nut 322′ to fasten the coupling sleeve 341′.

Referring to FIG. 14, the bracing rod 32″ may also have an external screw section 321″ on one end. The holding dock 337″ has a corresponding internal screw hole 337 a″ to be coupled with the external screw section 321″ to fasten the coupling sleeve 341″.

Refer to FIGS. 15 and 16 for another embodiment of the invention. The holding dock 52 of the sliding member 5 has a chuck 521 coupled on a through hole 51 of the sliding member 5. The chuck 521 has an elastic force S to clip the top end of the shade 7 on the bracing rod 6.

In summary, the invention provides a single vertical shade structure to facilitate versatile applications. It can be assembled and installed easily. Production cost is lower. Product competitiveness is enhanced. It can be used on multi-panel vertical shades to move the shades, also can be used with the drawing rope. It provides significant improvements over the conventional vertical shades.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiment thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A universal vertical shade comprising at least a curtain track, a bracing rod, a shade and two sliding members, wherein: the curtain track is a rail to hang the shade; the bracing rod is an elongate bar; the shade is a panel; each of the sliding members has a top surface which has two flanges extending from a front side and a rear side, a middle portion which has a detent plate extending outwards, and a lower portion which has a holding dock to hold the bracing rod and the top end of the shade.
 2. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the curtain track has a first sliding trough on a upper side and a second sliding trough on a lower side.
 3. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the shade has a coupling sleeve on the top end.
 4. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the sliding member has two drawing rope action holes on the top surface thereof.
 5. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the holding dock has a through hole and a notch.
 6. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the holding dock has a screw hole on one side to be fastened by a bolt.
 7. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the bracing rod has an external screw thread section on one end to run through a through hole of the holding dock and to be coupled with a nut.
 8. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the bracing rod has an external screw thread section on one end to engage with an internal screw hole formed on the holding dock.
 9. The universal vertical shade of claim 1, wherein the holding dock includes a chuck engaging with a through hole formed on the sliding member to clip the bracing rod and the top end of the shade. 